Editorial
Sodexo's current menu lacks variety
September 25, 2008
After the incessant complaining in past years about the food service provided by Chartwells, the UW-River Falls’ students and administration made a good choice in making the switch to Sodexo.
Since the switch to Sodexo, we have noticed an increase in some areas, such as overall food quality, but some problems still need to be addressed to fully win the approval of the student body.
During the initial bidding process Sodexo made a presentation to Residence Life in which they touted a diverse menu for the Riverside Commons area. The current menu at Riverside Commons does not seem to reflect these same values. The food choices seem to be the same day and day and consist of unhealthy choices such as pizza, chicken nuggets, corndogs, sandwiches, a salad bar and not much else. Where are the diverse food choices we were lead to believe would be a staple to this new food provider?
The variety of options slightly improve at the other dining venues, but only Ultimate Baja offers transfer options while the prices at World of Wings, Sub Connection and Mein Bowl are high enough as to scare off students with meal plans.
More transfer options should be available since all students who live on campus are now required to purchase meal plans.
Cleanliness is also becoming a concern now that trays are no longer available. Sodexo had good intentions with eliminating trays, but it is resulting in unforeseen consequences on the overall cleanliness of Riverside Commons.
Crumbs and spills that were once caught by the trays are now accumulating on the tables. During peak hours students are hard-pressed to find tables that are not littered with crumbs, spills and various dirty silverware. The goal of reducing waste by removing the trays is a noble one, but students should be able to expect to sit down at a table without having to eat in the prior student’s filth.
This problem is not solely on Sodexo; it should be a common courtesy to clean up after yourself when leaving a table.
It is to be expected that small problems creep up while the new food provider adapts to our campus, but that is why it is important to address these problems now before popular opinion changes and Sodexo becomes the new Chartwells.